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Review
| Elizabeth's London: Everyday Life in Elizabethan London, by Liza Picard. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2004. 330 pages. $27.95, paper.
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| About four years ago, the author of this book published one about London in the eighteenth century. Reviewers referred to that work as "a delightful hodgepodge" and "pleasingly plotless." Whether the adjectives, delightful and pleasing, are equally appropriate to the book under review here is something of a question. Professional historians are unlikely to offer them, although the words hodgepodge and plotless are likely to come to their minds. It is difficult to judge how students at various levels will react to this idiosyncratic description of London in the late sixteenth century. At times, following the author through London was rather like following someone on a pogo stick. Directions changed rapidly and unpredictably and then switched back again. London Bridge has its own section and then pops up again. So does water supply, but it reappears under the heading, Engineers and Quills. Transitions between topics are a rare event indeed. An approach such as this caters to those with short attention spans, for rarely does a single topic extend for more than a page. Witchcraft and magic do just take up a page, but under four different subtopics, not one of them having anything to do with London. Yet a page length focus, however subdivided, is the exception. Often the topics last for only a paragraph. That is what Sir Thomas Gresham and his college receive. |
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While it is undoubtedly true that professional academic historians tend to write mainly for one another rather than the general public, it is equally true that the most conscientious of nonacademic historians try to "translate" original research into language that a more general audience can understand. Undoubtedly that was the goal of this book, but as the examples mentioned above indicate, its success is questionable. Leaving to one side the approach used, the greatest topical weakness is the treatment of political history. The opening section that reviews the background to Elizabeth's reign shows no evidence that the author has read the numerous recent volumes about either the queen or her father. Even something like Scarisbrick's more than thirty-five year old study of Henry VIII seems to have slipped through the investigative net. As a result, this section is at best out of date and at worst misleading. |
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Despite all these problems, the book does have its virtues. In some areas that particularly interest the author, the recent literature is used and summarized accurately. The one about clothing is a good example. Perhaps the book's greatest strength is a shrewd wariness about the use of language. To give just one instance, in discussing the term, glass, as used by sixteenth century English people, the author points out that the object described could be a highly polished metal mirror. Many nonacademic writers would have missed that change in usage and meaning. Therefore, this work will appeal to a rather limited audience, perhaps those with an interest in (but little knowledge of) London. In the end it might stimulate them to explore in depth one or more of the areas only lightly touched upon here. |
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| Indiana University, South Bend |
Roy Schreiber |
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